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Columbus Foods started a $28 million, 55,000 square foot, expansion at its curing and processing facility in Hayward, California.

The expansion project, set to be completed in July 2015, will result in a state-of-the-art facility with special attention paid to food safety and the brand’s time-honored traditional production methods, company officials said.The facility is being developed through an ongoing design-build partnership between Columbus and Stellar, a recognized industry leader in providing true turnkey, design-build solutions for the food and beverage industry.

The new building will boast drying capacity for 23 million pounds of ‘salame,’ the Italian word for the English plural salami. “The growth of Columbus’ ‘salame’ products continues to gather momentum, and we saw a need to increase our capacity by an additional 50 percent to meet demand,” Timothy Fallon, CEO/President of Columbus Foods. “Our traditional recipes, which utilize premium cuts of pork, proprietary spice blends, and a lengthy curing process, are being recognized by consumers looking to experience authentic, superior-tasting products in the ‘salumi’ category.” Salumi is the name for Italian cured meat products.

The plant will feature robotics in material handling and will have the capacity to process 250,000 pounds per day. Robotic product movement systems are being provided by VE.MA.C. Automazioni Industriali, a leading supplier of handling, robotics, and automation in the meat industry. Additionally, salame curing rooms will be equipped with specialized air handling units provided by Frigomeccanica S.p.A., a firm with over 40 years of experience.